Electric bed frame

ABSTRACT

An electric bed frame includes a fixed rack, a base plate disposed at a bottom side of the fixed rack, a movable rack rotatably connected with the fixed rack, an actuator rotatably connected with the fixed and movable racks and including a cylinder and a push lever movable into and out of the cylinder, and a supporting board disposed on the movable rack. When the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack is swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack. When the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened, the movable rack is swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack. As a result, it&#39;s convenient for users to use the electric bed frame in coordination with the traditional bed without damaging the traditional bed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation-In-Part of co-pending application Ser. No. 15/065,482, filed on Mar. 9, 2016, and for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120, and this application claims priority of Application No. 105200899 filed in TAIWAN on Jan. 21, 2016 under 35 U.S.C. §119, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to bed frames and more particularly, to an electric bed frame.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional electric bed, which includes an electric bed frame, a foot frame and a mattress, can lift the back or the legs of the user, and the form of the electric bed is adjustable according to the personal demands of the consumer so that the consumer can rest on the electric bed in the most comfortable form for the consumer for physical and emotional relaxation. However, some consumers may be unwilling to buy the electric bed because they think it's wasteful to buy a whole new electric bed on the condition that there has been a traditional bed at home for rest and sleep, thereby sacrificing the chance to rest and relax well. The inventor of the present invention developed a thin type electric bed which can be directly placed on the traditional bed, but the traditional bed may be damaged when the electric bed is placed thereon because the electric bed has a certain weight. Therefore, it is an objective for the dealers in the industry to provide an electric bed frame which can be used in coordination with the traditional bed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is an objective of the present invention to provide an electric bed frame which can be used in coordination with the traditional bed without damaging the surface and the structure of the traditional bed.

To attain the above objective, the present invention provides an electric bed frame which includes a fixed rack, a base plate, a movable rack, an actuator, and a supporting board. The base plate is disposed at a bottom side of the fixed rack. The movable rack is rotatably connected with the fixed rack. Two ends of the actuator are rotatably connected with the fixed rack and the movable rack respectively. The actuator includes a cylinder and a push lever extended from the cylinder and movable into and out of the cylinder. When the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack is swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack.

When the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened, the movable rack is swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack. The supporting board is disposed on a top side of the movable rack. The weight of the electric bed frame can be averagely dispersed to the whole base plate because the base plate is disposed at the bottom of the electric bed frame, so that the electric bed frame is suitable to be used when being placed on the traditional bed and would not damage the traditional bed.

Except for disposing the base plate, the present invention further provides an electric bed frame which includes a fixed rack, a movable rack, an actuator, and a supporting board. The fixed rack includes at least two first rods parallel with each other and at least three second rods unparalleled to the first rods. The first rods are connected with the second rods, and bottoms of the first and the second rods are substantially at an imaginary plane. The movable rack is rotatably connected with the fixed rack. Two ends of the actuator are rotatably connected with the fixed rack and the movable rack respectively. The actuator includes a cylinder and a push lever extended from the cylinder and movable into and out of the cylinder. When the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack is swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack. When the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened, the movable rack is swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack. The supporting board is disposed on a top side of the movable rack.

In addition, the structural features of the fixed rack can be modified. The present invention provides another electric bed frame which includes a fixed rack, a movable rack, an actuator, and a supporting board. The fixed rack includes a plurality of supporting rods parallel with each other and a plurality of connecting rods connected with the supporting rods. Bottoms of the first and the second rods are substantially at an imaginary plane. The movable rack is rotatably connected with the fixed rack. Two ends of the actuator are rotatably connected with the fixed rack and the movable rack respectively. The actuator includes a cylinder and a push lever extended from the cylinder and movable into and out of the cylinder. When the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack is swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack. When the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened, the movable rack is swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack. The supporting board is disposed on a top side of the movable rack.

When compared with the embodiment having the base plate, the electric bed frames of the abovementioned two embodiments without disposing base plate are thinner, and it's easier for users to adapt a height difference between before and after the electric bed frames are displaced on the traditional bed. In addition, the two embodiments have larger bottom contact areas and are not easier to damage the traditional bed when compared with a normal electric bed which merely has two supporting rods or four bed legs disposed at the bottom thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric bed frame according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the electric bed frame according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a part of the electric bed frame according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the electric bed frame according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the function of the electric bed frame.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an electric bed frame according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an electric bed frame according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an electric bed frame according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an electric bed frame 1 according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a fixed rack 10, a movable rack 20, a thigh rack 30, a shank rack 40, an actuator 50, four supporting boards 60, a bracket 70, and a base plate 80. The electric bed frame 1 is adapted for a mattress (not shown) to be placed thereon.

Referring to FIG. 2, the fixed rack 10 has two supporting rods 11 parallel with each other and extended along the longitudinal direction of the electric bed frame 1, four connecting rods 12 vertical to and connected with the two supporting rods 11, a longitudinal rod 13 parallel with the two supporting rods 11 and connected with two of the connecting rods 12 located in the center, and a pivoting connecting portion 14 located at a right end 131 of the longitudinal rod 13.

The movable rack 20 has a frame 21 whose left end 21 a is rotatably connected with the fixed rack 10, and a pivoting connecting portion 22 disposed at the frame 21. The movable rack 20 can be swingable relative to the fixed rack 10. In this embodiment, a position of the movable rack 20 is corresponding to user's back.

In this embodiment, the thigh rack 30 is connected with the fixed rack 10 and swingable relative to the fixed rack 10, and the shank rack 40 is connected with the thigh rack 30 and swingable relative to the thigh rack 30. However, in other embodiments, the thigh rack 30 and the shank rack 40 may be kept stationary.

The actuator 50, two ends of which are rotatably connected with the fixed rack 10 and the movable rack 20 respectively, includes a cylinder 52 and a push lever 54 extended from the cylinder 52 and movable into and out of the cylinder 52. In this embodiment, the cylinder 52 of the actuator 50 is rotatably connected with the connecting portion 22 of the movable rack 20, and the push lever 54 of the actuator 50 is rotatably connected with the connecting portion 12 of the fixed rack 10. When the push lever 54 is moved out of the cylinder 52 to make the actuator 50 lengthened, the actuator 50 drives the movable rack 20 to swing upwardly relative to the fixed rack 10, as shown in FIG. 4. The movable rack 20 stops swinging upwardly when the push lever 54 is extended from the cylinder 52 for the longest length. When the push lever 54 is moved into the cylinder 52 to make the actuator 50 shortened, the actuator 50 drives the movable rack 20 to swing downwardly relative to the fixed rack 10. Eventually the movable rack 20 stops swinging downwardly when the movable rack 20 is located as shown in FIG. 1.

The four supporting boards 60 are disposed on the top sides of a position of the fixed rack 10 corresponding to user's hip, the movable rack 20, the thigh rack 30 and the shank rack 40 respectively. The supporting board 60 disposed on the top side of the movable rack 20 is penetrated with a hollow portion 62 which accommodates a part of the actuator 50 and a part of the connecting portion 22 of the movable rack 20. In this embodiment, the cylinder 52 of the actuator 50 is partially accommodated in the hollow portion 62. Besides, it can be observed in FIG. 3 that the actuator 50 and the connecting portion 22 are not protruded out of the hollow portion 62.

The bracket 70 is disposed on the supporting board 60 located at the foot portion of the bed for preventing the mattress from displacing. In this embodiment, the aforesaid supporting board 60 where the bracket 70 is disposed is located at the top side of the shank rack 40. In other embodiments, the bracket 70 may be disposed on other supporting boards 60, and the electric bed frame 1 may even include two or more brackets 70.

The top of the base plate 80 is disposed at the bottom side 101 of the fixed rack 10 and fixed at the bottom of the two supporting rods 11 by screwing, gluing, or other fixing techniques. However, in other embodiments, the base plate 80 may be fixed at the fixed rack 10 by other ways or sandwiched between the fixed rack 10 and a bed plate of a traditional bed. In this embodiment, the bottom 82 of base plate 80 is a plane, the area of the bottom 82 is generally equal to a summation of areas of all supporting boards 60, and even four edges of the base plate 80 are leveled with an outer peripheral edge of a combination of the supporting boards 60.

Because a bottom contact surface of a normal electric bed may be merely bottoms of a few supporting rods or four legs, when this electric beds is placed on the traditional bed, the weight of the electric bed would be focused on the these supporting rods or the bed legs, and it's easy to damage the traditional bed or its surface.

Relatively, when the electric bed frame 1 of the present invention is placed on the traditional bed, the surface and the structure of the traditional bed are not easy to be damaged because the weight of the electric bed frame 1 can be averagely dispersed to the whole base plate 80 even adding weights of mattress and user.

In addition, the supporting board 60 is so thick to have enough structural strength to bear the weights of the mattress and the user, so the hollow portion 62 has enough space to accommodate parts of the actuator 50 and the connecting portion 22. Because there is the hollow portion 62, the position where the actuator 50 and the connecting portion 22 are rotatably connected with each other can be raised to provide the actuator 50 enough height difference between two ends thereof, so that the actuator 50 is long enough in lever arm for providing the torque to rotate the movable rack 20. As a result, the electric bed frame 1 can be lowered in thickness. When being used in coordination with the traditional bed, the quite thin electric bed frame 1 can lower the user's feeling of unfamiliarity. No matter the electric bed frame 1 is placed between the normal bed frame and the mattress or between the ground and the mattress, it can perform the lifting and lowering effect electrically, and is convenient for the user to get on the bed and get off bed, thereby excellent in safety, convenience and comfortableness.

It should be noticed that, in other embodiments, the supporting board 60 may not have the hollow portion 62, and the location of the pivoting connecting portion 22 of the movable rack 20 can be modified accordingly.

Based on the spirit of the first embodiment, the structure of the electric bed frame 1 can be modified. For example, the actuator 50 can be installed in reverse direction, which means the push lever 54 of the actuator 50 is rotatably connected with the movable rack 20 and the cylinder 52 of the actuator 50 is rotatably connected with the fixed rack 10. However, in such condition the size and the shape of the hollow portion 62 should be modified correspondingly. Alternately, the connecting portion 22 of the movable rack 20 may not be accommodated in the hollow portion 62. In the aforesaid embodiment, the movable rack 20 is the back rack of the electric bed frame 1. However, the structural features of the present invention can be applied to the thigh rack 30 or the shank rack 40, which means the movable rack defined in the present invention may be the thigh rack or the shank rack of the electric bed frame. The shape of the base plate 80 as shown in FIG. 2 can be modified for being used in coordination with the traditional bed. In addition, the structure of the fixed rack 10 can be modified, for example, the numbers and locations of the supporting rods 11 can be modified.

In order to reduce the weight of the base plate 80, referring to FIG. 5, a difference between an electric bed frame 1′ of a second preferred embodiment and the first embodiment is, a base plate 80′ thereof has eight hollowed-out portions 83 distributed in the base plate 80′. In this embodiment, the eight hollowed-out portions 83 have rectangular shapes and are penetrating through the base plate 80′. In other embodiments, the hollowed-out portions 83 may be hollows which are merely dug from part of the top or bottom portion of the base plate 80′ and not penetrating through the base plate 80′, and the shapes, sizes, numbers, and locations of the hollowed-out portions 83 can be modified based on not damaging the traditional bed.

In addition, in other preferred embodiments, an electric bed frame may not have the base plates 80 and 80′, and the structure of the fixed rack 10 can be modified. Referring to FIG. 6, the differences between an electric bed frame 9 of a third preferred embodiment and the first embodiment are, a fixed rack 90 includes two first rods 91 parallel with each other and extended along the longitudinal direction of the electric bed frame 9, and four second rods 92 unparalleled to (vertical to) the first rods 91. The two first rods 91 are parallel with two sides 9 a and 9 b of the electric bed frame 9. Two ends of each of the second rods 92 is connected with the two first rods 91. The bottoms 911 and 921 of the first rods 91 and the second rods 92 are substantially at an imaginary plane. In this embodiment, the bottoms 911 and 921 of the first rods 91 and the second rods 92 form a mesh surface, and the weight of the electric bed frame 9 would be dispersed on the mesh surface. When compared with the aforementioned normal electric bed which merely has a few supporting rod or four legs, the third preferred embodiment is not easier to damage the traditional bed.

Based on the spirit of the third preferred embodiment, the structure of the electric bed frame 9 can be modified. For example, the two first rods 91 may be unparalleled to two side 9 a and 9 b of the electric bed frame 9, part of the second rods 92 may be not vertical to the two first rods 91, or those first rods 91 and second rods 92 can be fixed by adding some rods. In addition, the numbers and locations of those first rods 91 and second rods 92 and the mesh surface consisted by those first rods 91 and second rods 92 can be modified. For example, the more first and second rods 91 and 92 are disposed, the more weight of the electric bed would be dispersed, and it's not easier to damage the traditional bed.

Referring to FIG. 7, the differences between an electric bed frame 9′ of a four preferred embodiment and the first embodiment are, a fixed rack 90′ includes eight supporting rods 94 parallel with each other and extended along the longitudinal direction of the electric bed frame 9′, and three connecting rods 95 connected with the supporting rods 94. The supporting rods 94 are parallel with two sides 9 a′ and 9 b′ of the electric bed frame 9′, and the connecting rods 95 are parallel with the other two sides 9 c′ and 9 d′ of the electric bed frame 9′. The connecting rods 95 are disposed at tops of the supporting rods 94 or penetrating through each of the supporting rods 94 to fix and connect the supporting rods 94. In this embodiment, the bottoms 941 of the supporting rods 94 are substantially at an imaginary plane and would be a surface contacted with the traditional bed to disperse the weight of the electric bed frame 9′. When compared with the aforementioned normal electric bed, the fourth embodiment is not easier to damage the traditional bed.

Based on the spirit of the fourth preferred embodiment, the structure of the electric bed frame 9′ can be modified. For example, the supporting rods 94 may be unparalleled to two side 9 a′ and 9 b′ of the electric bed frame 9′, or the connecting rods 95 may be unparalleled to two side 9 c′ and 9 d′ of the electric bed frame 9′. In addition, the numbers and locations of those supporting rods 94 and connecting rods 95 can be modified. For example, the more supporting and connecting rods 94 and 95 are disposed, the more weight of the electric bed would be dispersed, and it's not easier to damage the traditional bed.

In addition, when compared with the first and second preferred embodiments having the base plates, the electric bed frame 9 and 9′ of the third and fourth preferred embodiments are thinner, so that a height difference between before and after the electric bed frames 9 and 9′ are displaced on the traditional bed is smaller, and it's not easier to affect the original habit of user for getting on bed and getting off bed.

The above description represents merely the preferred embodiment of the present invention, without any intention to limit the scope of the present invention. The simple variations and modifications not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric bed frame comprising: a fixed rack; a base plate disposed at a bottom side of the fixed rack; a movable rack rotatably connected with the fixed rack; an actuator, two ends of which are rotatably connected with the fixed rack and the movable rack respectively, the actuator comprising a cylinder and a push lever extended from the cylinder and movable into and out of the cylinder, the movable rack being swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack when the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack being swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack when the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened; and a supporting board disposed on a top side of the movable rack.
 2. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cylinder of the actuator is rotatably connected with the movable rack, and the push lever of the actuator is rotatably connected with the fixed rack.
 3. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein the push lever of the actuator is rotatably connected with the movable rack, and the cylinder of the actuator is rotatably connected with the fixed rack.
 4. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting board has a hollow portion accommodating a part of the actuator.
 5. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 4, wherein the movable rack has a connecting portion rotatably connected with one of the two ends of the actuator and partially located in the hollow portion of the supporting board.
 6. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein a bottom of the base plate is a plane.
 7. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 6, wherein the base plate has at least one hollowed-out portion.
 8. An electric bed frame comprising: a fixed rack, comprising at least two first rods parallel with each other and at least three second rods unparalleled to the first rods, the first rods being connected with the second rods, and bottoms of the first and the second rods being substantially at an imaginary plane; a movable rack rotatably connected with the fixed rack; an actuator, two ends of which are rotatably connected with the fixed rack and the movable rack respectively, the actuator comprising a cylinder and a push lever extended from the cylinder and movable into and out of the cylinder, the movable rack being swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack when the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack being swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack when the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened; and a supporting board disposed on a top side of the movable rack.
 9. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cylinder of the actuator is rotatably connected with the movable rack, and the push lever of the actuator is rotatably connected with the fixed rack.
 10. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 8, wherein the push lever of the actuator is rotatably connected with the movable rack, and the cylinder of the actuator is rotatably connected with the fixed rack.
 11. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 8, wherein the supporting board has a hollow portion accommodating a part of the actuator.
 12. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 11, wherein the movable rack has a connecting portion rotatably connected with one of the two ends of the actuator and partially located in the hollow portion of the supporting board.
 13. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bottoms of the first and the second rods form a mesh surface.
 14. An electric bed frame comprising: a fixed rack, comprising a plurality of supporting rods parallel with each other and a plurality of connecting rods connected with the supporting rods, bottoms of the supporting rods being substantially at an imaginary plane; a movable rack rotatably connected with the fixed rack; an actuator, two ends of which are rotatably connected with the fixed rack and the movable rack respectively, the actuator comprising a cylinder and a push lever extended from the cylinder and movable into and out of the cylinder, the movable rack being swung upwardly relative to the fixed rack when the push lever is moved out of the cylinder to make the actuator lengthened, the movable rack being swung downwardly relative to the fixed rack when the push lever is moved into the cylinder to make the actuator shortened; and a supporting board disposed on a top side of the movable rack.
 15. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 14, wherein the cylinder of the actuator is rotatably connected with the movable rack, and the push lever of the actuator is rotatably connected with the fixed rack.
 16. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 14, wherein the push lever of the actuator is rotatably connected with the movable rack, and the cylinder of the actuator is rotatably connected with the fixed rack.
 17. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 14, wherein the supporting board has a hollow portion accommodating a part of the actuator.
 18. The electric bed frame as claimed in claim 17, wherein the movable rack has a connecting portion rotatably connected with one of the two ends of the actuator and partially located in the hollow portion of the supporting board. 